Leer feeder



Nov. 17, 1931. H. L. wlTTMAN LEER FEEDER Filed Dec. 8. 1926 4 Sheets-Sheet Nov. 17, 1931. H. WITTMAN 1,832,343

LEER FEEDER Filed Deo. 8, 1926 4 Sheets-Sheet .2

NOV. 17, 1931. H wlTTMAN 1,832,343

LEER FEEDER Filed Dec. 8, 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 nur wugntoz Hm@ L mmm.

mummia Nov. 17, 1931. H. L. WITTMAN LEER FEEDER Filed Dec. 8. 1926 4 Sheets-Sheet gmx/nto@ may be controlled by Cil Patented Nov. Ii,A 1931!/ UNITED isprATEs PATENT OFFICE HARRY I.. wI'rmN, OE GRAFTON,

co., or WHEELING,

WEST VIRGINIA; AssIGNoR 'ro nAzELRTLAs Guss WEST VIRGINIA, a CORPORATION or WEST VIRGINIA LEER :FEEDER The invention relates to an improved and simplified mechanism for automatically feeding to a leer ware to be annealed, and one of the objects of the invention is to provide aA simple and efficient construction bywhich a pusher bar is first movedV forwardly to push the ware from a conveyer into the leer, is then slightly withdrawn to free it from contact with the Ware, is then swung upward, is then drawn backwardly, and finally is lowered to its original position ready to feed the next quota of ware into the leer.

A further object of the invention is to provide a mechanism of this character which is\ periodically actuated in accordance with movements of the conveyer carrying the ware,

and entirely independent of the number or arrangement of the articles on the conveyer. Another object of the invention is to providea leer feeder, the operation of which the number of pans of ware on the conveyer.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a leer feeder, the operation of which may be controlled either by the movement of the conveyer arranged transversely of the leer front, -or by the number of pans of ware on the conveyer; that is, a feeder which is adapted to feed to a leer ware carried directly by the conveyer, or ware carried in pans on the conveyer. I

Another object ofthe invention is to provide interchan eable guide meansy which may be employed 01'J uiding either individual articles or pans o? articles, onto the t-ransverse conveyer. "l y A further object of the invention 1s to provide an improvedpusher bar which is suitable for' pushing glass articles of vari- Iplus shapes, elther with or without an over# mgf w It is unnecessary' to mention the numerous further objects and advantages of the invention, which willbe apparent to those skilled in the art, from the following de- ,them to the leer.

"tailed description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings; in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of the leer feeder; the pusher bar having been moved into the leer and elevated preparatory to being Withdrawn; and the front of the leer being omitted for thesake of clearness.

Figure 2 is a plan view of the leer feeder and associated parts of the feeding system; the pusher bar being shown in its withdrawn and lowered position.

Figure 3 is a detail perspective view of the. turntable and .the trip-per mechanism which is adapted to be operated by pans on the cross conveyer.

Figure4 4 is a detail vperspective view of the tripper mechanism which is employed /When the articles are mounted directly on the conveyer.

Figure 5 is a vertical transverse sectional view'of the feeder, and showing a' modified form of the pusher bar.

Figure 6 is a' side view of the oven for warming the pans, and showing its relation to the conveyer which carries the ware from the formi and f 'Figure 7 is a detail perspective vview of an interchangeable guide construction.

Referring to the drawings more in deg machine to 'the cross conveyer;

tail, numeral l indicates generally a continuously moving conveyer for transporting the ware from the forming machine to a point adjacent the leerL The ware is taken from the forming machine, either by hand or mechanically, and placed directly on the kconveyer. In some types of ware it is advisable to placethe articles in\ pans prior to feeding For this purpose I have provided, ,intermediate the ends of the conveyer '1, an oven 2 in which the pans are -heated to a proper temperature to receive the glassware. It is an old and well known prac.. tice to provide an oven to heat the, pans prior to filling them, but in accordance with the present construction the oven 2 1s mounted directly over the conveyer 1, so that the heated pans may be filled directly from the elements '4 and onto the conveyer 1. If ansare not being employed, then the articles will simply pass under the oven and continue their travel toward the leer.

The conveyer 1 carries the articles, whether in pans or directly on the conveyer, to a point adjacent the leer 5, where they are transferred by suitable guides, to be described hereinafter, to a turntable 6. From the turntable the individual articles, or the pans containing the articles, are guided onto the cross conveyer 7 which extends transversely of the leer and which is arranged d1- rectly in front thereof. As will appear hereinafter the turntable 6, conveyer and the leer feeder, are all operatively connected and driven from a common source of power, while the conveyer l is entirely separate from thls group and has separate driving means.

The mechanism for operating the conveyer 7 and turntable 6, will now be described.

The motor for, driving the apparatus is indicated by numeral 8, and the motor shaft carries a small gear 9 which meshes with the larger gear` 10 keyed to a shaft 11 having a worm (not shown) on its opposite end. This worm drives a worm wheel (not shown) keyed to a shaft 14 and preferably mounted in a protective casing l5.

Mounted on one end of the shaft 14 is a sprocket wheel 16, and a chain 17 leads from this sprocket wheel to a sprocket wheel 18 keyed to a shaft 19, which is the driving shaft for the cross conveyer 7 and which continuously drives the conveyer in the usual manner.

The driven shaft at the op osite end of the cross conveyer 7 is indicated) by numeral 20, and this shaft has keyed thereto a sprocket wheel 21. A chain 22 leads from sprocket wheel 2l to sprocket wheel 23 keyed to a shaft 24 suitably mounted below the turntable 6. A.' bevel gear 25 is keyed to the opposite end of shaft 24 and meshes with a bevel gear 26 keyed to the vertical shaft 27 which supports and rotates the turntable.

For the purpose of vertically adjusting the turntable, I have provided the adjusting screw 28 which bears against the lower end of the turntable shaft 27 and which is locked aaaaaw in adjusted position by means of lock nut 29. The turntable is preferably provided with an asbestos board covering 30.

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that the turntable rotates continu-- ously, that the conveyer 7 travels continuously across the front of the leer, and that these members are driven from a common source of power. The particular driving mechanism I employ has been described in considerable detail, but it will be understood that the invention is in no manner limited to the particular driving mechanism described, for obviously any suitable means may be provided for driving the cross conveyer and turntable.

The construction of the leer feeder, and the mechanism for operating the same will now be described. v

Keyed to the opposite end of the worm wheel shaft 14 is a bevel gear 31 which meshes with a bevel gear 32 which is loosely mounted on the main driving shaft 33 of the feeder. It may be mentioned here that a clutch periodically locks the bevel gear to the drive shaft, whereby the shaft is given a complete revolution which causes the feeder mechanism to operate through a complete c cle. After a complete revolution of the drive s aft the clutch is automatically thrown out. A. tripper mechanism is provided for the purpose of periodically throwing in the clutch. When the articles to be annealed are carried directly on the conveyer a mechanism is provided to operate the tripper after the cross conveyer has traveled a certain distance; and if the articles are placed in pans then another mechanism controlled by the number of pans, operates the tripper. The clutch, the tripper, and the two distinct means for operating the tripper, will be described after the construction and operation of the feeder has been described.

Keyed to the driving shaft 33 is an eccentric 34 provided with the usual eccentric strap 35. Threadedly or otherwise suitably attached to the eccentric strap is a connecting rod 36; the opposite end of the rod being threadedly or otherwise suitably attached to a fork 37. The nuts 36 constitute means for varyin the effective length of the connecting ro 36. The fork 37 is pivotally connected to the upper end of an arm 38 carried by a rock shaft 39 suitably mounted in bearings 40.

Fixed to the rock shaft 39 and extending upwardly therefrom are two rocker arms 41A, and at their upper ends these rocker arms have pin and slot connections with pusher rods 42. These pusher rods are slidably mounted in oscillatable guide' frames 43 by means of two pair of rollers44. Suitably attached to the forward ends of the pusher rods is a transversely extending pusher bar 45, which is of such length as to extend substantially the entire width of the leer. Obviously the pusher bar maybe of any desired construction, but for the'feeding of ordinary f .ware the pusher bar consists of nothing more than a length of angle iron. For ware of different shapes it is sometimes advisable to employ pusher bars of different construction; as an illustration of this, l have shown in Figure 5, and will describe hereinafter, a form ,of pusher bar which is particularly q adapted for feeding articles having an overhang. A

u The rea-r ends of the pusher rods 42 extend through openings provided in the end members 46 of the oscillatable guide frames 43. A colla-r 47 or other suitable abutment may be provided on the rear ends of the pushf er rods, and coil springs 48 may be mounted` on the rods between the abutments 47 and the end members 46 of the-guide frames. The purpose of these springs is to assist in withdrawing the pusher bar a short distance before it is elevated. However, as will appear hereinafter, the mechanism is designed to accomplish this function without the use of springs, and. therefore they 2do not form any essential part of the construction.

The guide frames 43 are pivotally mounted on standards 49, and pivotally vattached to these frames areP connecting rods 50; the lower ends of the connecting rods being pivotally attached to the ends of rocker ba-rs l. The rocker bars 51 are pivotally mounted, intermediate their ends, on collars 52 which are clamped indjusted position on standards 49 by means of bolts 53; and are held in adjusted position yby mea-ns of screws 54 which pass downwardly through lugs 55V and bear on the upper face' of the collars '52. The element 55 preferably consists merely of a bar which passes through the standard and has both ends projecting therebeyond to receive the screws 54, as indicated in Figi ure 5.

YThe ends of the rocker bars 'toward the leer are provided with rollers' 56 which en-y gage and are actuated by cams 57 carried by the main driveshaft 33.

The operation of the mechanism described is as follows: When the shaft 33 starts to rotate, the eccentric 34 through its connectionspwith the rocker shaft 39 will' rock this shaft in the direction to move the rocker arms 41 toward' the leer; and the pin and slot connections thus far between these arms and the pusher rods 42r will danse these rods to move forwardly, thereby-movinl the pusher bar across the cross conveyer y be on thev conveyer.

the ware, and for this purpose thev eccentric pusher bar to be lowered Y a thus pushing into the 60 leer whatever ware efore elevating the pusher bar, it isdesirable to withdraw it slightly to free it from` `pusher .barC before the cams to lift the bar.

The pusher bar having been moved the full length of its stroke into the leer and having been slightly withdrawn, the con tinued rotation of the drive shaft 33 the cams 57 into play, and the lobe portion 4of the Jcams rocks the forward ends of the bars `51 upwardly, thereby rocking the guide frames to lift their forward ends andthus lifting the forward ends of the pusher rod and the pusher bar carried thereby. The pusher bar is thus liftedvv to such a distance that when it is withdrawn it will pass over come linto play the tops of articles which are being carried across the front of the leer on the cross conveyer 7, and it will be noted that the cams 57 are so designed as to maintain the pusher bar inthis elevated position for a substantial period of time, so that the bar will be entirely withdrawn before it is lowered.

The cams 57 havingy elevated the pusher barso that it will clear the incoming ware, the continued 'rotation of the drive shaft 33 causes the eccentric to rock the shaft 39 and arms4l outwardly to their full extent thereby withdrawing the pusher bar its full distance. When the pusher bar has been withdrawn its full extent, it is ready to be lowered, and consequently at Athis point in the "operation the rollers 56 ride down the sides of the cams 57, thereby permitting the by gravity to its original horizontal position. The shaft 33 has now made a complete rotation and has caused the'feeder to perform a complete c cle of operation, and at this point a clutc is automatically thrown out, as will be described hereinafter, thereby stopping theretaticpn Io-f the shaft and the operation of the d pusher rods 42 in the event that-they should drop because of the breakage of any parts.

. I have thus far described the construction and complete operation of the, feeder, with the feeder to per-M brings 11ol f the exception of the tripper enechanism by which the feeder is periodically caused to operate, either in accordance with movements of the cross conveyer 7 when the ware is placed directly on the conveyer, or in accordance with the'number of pans on the con-l veyer, when the ware to be annealed is such that it is placedin ans.

Numeral 60 indicates a clutch which is `mounted -on the main drive shaft 33. 'and which is adapted vto intermittently lock the -bevel gear 32 to the shaft 33, to cause a complete .revolution thereof. This clutch is provided with a short lever 61- which is izo 05' that the eccentric will start to withdraw the adapted to engage a tripper linger 62, vand 130 iiD when it engages this tripper finger the clutch is thrown out, thereby releasing the gear 32 from the shaft 33 and stopping the o eration of the feeder. When the tripper nger is moved to release the lever 61, the clutch is thrown in and the shaft 33'again begins its periodical rotation. Figure 4 clearl shows the position of the parts when the c utch 60 is out and the drive shaft is not rotating.

The tripper finger 62 is fixed to a rockable tripper shaft 63, and this shaft and tripper finger are normally held in position to engage the clutch lever 61 by means of a spring 64. The movement of the finger 62 in this direction is adjustably limited by means of an adjustable stop 65. To rock the tripper shaft 63 in the direction to release the tripper 62 from the clutch lever 61,1 provide one end of the shaft 63 with a short laterally extend ing arm 66, and l provide the opposite end of the shaft with a similar arm 66'. The arm 66 is operated in accordance with movements of the cross conveyer 7, and the arm 66 is operated in accordance with the number of pans on the cross conveyer, and it is obvious that if either arm is moved downwardly it will rock the shaft 63 thereby tripping finger 62 and throwing in the clutch 60. l1 shall first de render inoperative the above described tripscribe the mechanism for operating the arm 66.

A sprocket wheel 67 is loosely mounted on the conveyer shaft 19, and a clutch 68 normally locks this sprocket wheel to the continuously rotating shaft. A sprocket chain 69leads from sprocket wheel 67 to a sprocket wheel 70 fixed to a shaft 71. The shaft 71 is thus continuously rotated, and this shaft carries a disc 7 2 provided witha lug 73, which will come .into engagement with the arm 66 at the proper time, thereby rocking the tripper shaft 63 and releasing the tripper finger 62 from the clutch lever 61. The machine is thus thrown into operation, and' when the lug 73 frees the arm 66 the spring 64 will bring the tripper finger 62 back into position to again engage the clutch lever 61, when the driving shaft 33 and clutch 60 have made a complete rotation. The ratio of the various sprockets will, of course, vary with different installations but it will be such that the shaft 71.will make a. complete revolution while the cross conveyer 7 is traveling substantially the width of the leer; so that every time the conveyer 7 travels substantially the width ofthe leer the lug 73 will actuate the tripper to throw the feeder in gear, which will then function, in the manner hereinbefore described, to push the ware from the cross conve er into the leer.

et it be assumed now that the ware is being fed to the leer in pans, and that the feeder is to be operated m accordance with the number of pans on the cross conveyer. To operate the machine in this manner, I first means ping mechanism by throwing out the clutch 68 by means of a handle 7 4, so that this tripper mechanism remains inactive.

Reference is now to be had to the tripper mechanism shown at the left of Figures 2 and 3. The rod 66 is moved downwardly in just the same manner as in the previously described mechanism, that is, a disc 75 carries a lug 76, which at intervals engages and depresses the arm 66 thereby releasing the tripper finger 62 from the clutch lever 61; but in this case the discl 75 is intermittently rotated step by step as the pans 77 are fed onto the cross conveyer.

rlfhe disc 75 is fixed to a shaft 78 which carries at its opposite end a sprocket wheel 7 9. A sprocket chain 80 leads from sprocket wheel 79 to a sprocket wheel 81 carried by the shaft 82. A rachet wheel 83 is connected with the sprocket wheel 81; and a pawl 84 is carried by the lever 85 and adapted to intermittently engage and rotate the rachet wheel and sprocket step by ste rElhe lever 85 is, of course, loosely mounte on the shaft 82.

iin operation, as a pan of ware passes from the turntable 6 onto the cross conveyer 7 it will engage the lever 85 and move it to the right (Figures 2 and 3). rlhis movement of the lever 85 will movethe ratchet wheel 83 and sprocket 81 one step, and through the medium of chain 8O the disc 75 will be moved one step. After the pan passes clear of the lever 85 the counterweight 86 throws the lever upward into position to be engaged by the next pan.

'lin the same manner each succeeding pan moves the rachet wheel one step, and when the desired number` of pans have assed onto the conveyer 7, the lug r6 is broug tinto position to engage and depress the arm 66', thereby tripping the finger 62, and throwing the machine into operation for one complete cycle, to push the pans from the conveyer into the leer, in the manner hereinbefore described. Of course, the rachet wheel and sprockets will be such that the lever 85 may be operated any desired number'of times before the tripper is operated to start the feeder.

I have now described the complete construction and operation of the leer feeder, and all that remains to be described are the interchangeable guides for either individual articles or leer ans. t

For gui ing the' leer pans, Iv rovide 'a curved plate 87 which extends dia onally across the conve er 1, and which wil guide the pans from t is conveyer onto the turntable 6. Extending across the turntable l provide a similar curved arm 88, for guiding the pans from the turntable onto the cross conveyer 7. When it is desired tofeed the articles directly on the conveyer, l' provide 'guide rods 89, 89 which are preferably made `of s oft metal which may be easily bent to any desired shape. These guide rode may be ad- 45, and it will be noted t Ajustably attached to the guide bars Si?, 88 in i any'desired manner, but inthe preferred connuts 90 for locking the rods in adjusted position. The construction isl clearly shownin Figures 2 and 7 For the purpose of steadyling the articles I provide a bracket 91, which Vispreferably slotted to adjustably receive a rod 92 which carries at its lower end a guide member 93. These guides for theindividual 'articles may be quickly and easily removed when it is desired to feed the ware in pans. A burner 93 is Larranged below the turntable 6 for the purpose of heating it.

In Figure 5 I have shown a slightly modifled form of pusher bar which is particularly for use in the feeding of articles having an overhang. For this purpose an upstanding plate 94 is mounted on to of the -pusher bar liat the upstanding plate is spaced slightly to the rear of the face of the pusher bar 45. By means of this construction, the pusher bar will come into contact with lthe lower portion of the articles, andthe upstanding plate 94 will come into contact with the overhang, thereby steadying the articles to keep them from being v'overturned. The plate 94 is preferably adjustably attached to the pusher bar 45 by means of slots (not shown)`and bolts 95.

kbackward movement.

The construction described herein is, of course, subject to many changes and modifications, all of which are intended to be included in the appended claims. D f

at I claim'is:

1. A leer feeder including a pusher bar, means for moving the bar into and out of the leer, means for raising and lowering the bar, the two means beingl so related that the bar is moved backward slightly before being elevated, and a spring for assisting the slight 2. A leer feeder including a conveyor eX- tending across the leer, a pivotally mounted frame, a rod slidably mounted in said frame, a pusher bar carried by said rod and adapted to push ware-from the conveyer, a .rotatable shaft, means o erated by said shaft for reciprocating said) rod, means operated by said shaft for oscillating said frame about its Apivot, a clutch associated with said shaft, and

'two tripper mechanisms, either of which is adapted to operate said clutch, one of said tripper mechanisms being operated in accordance with the movement of the conveyer, and the other tripper mechanism being operated in accordance with the number of pans on the conveyer. v

3;'A leer feeder including astandard, a frame pivotally mounted on said standard, a rod slidably mounted in said frame, a pusher bar carried by said rod, means for `reciprocatmg sald rod, an arm pivotally mounted on` 65.' said standard, a link connecting said arm and alim.

said frame, ma a' eam'fof oscillating said 4. A leer feeder including a standard;` a

frame pivotally mounted on said standard, a t,

rod slidably mounted in said frame, a pusher bar carried by said rod, means for reciprocating said rod, an arm pivotally mounted on said standard, a link connecting said arm and said frame, a cam for oscillating said arm, and means for vertically adjusting the pivotalimounting of said arm.

5. A leer feeder including a standard, a frame pivotally mountedL on saidA standard, means for osclllating said frame about its pivot, a rod slidably mounted in said frame, a pusher bar carried by said rod, a rock shaft, an upwardly extending arm carried by said rock shaft and operatively connected with said rod.

6. A leer feeder including a standard, a frame pivotally mounted on said standard, means for oscillating said frame about its pivot, a rod-slidably mounted in said frame, a pusher bar carried by said rod, a rock shaft, an upwardly extending arm carried by said rock shaft and operatively connected with said rod, a drive shaft, and an eccentric carried by said drive shaft and operatively connected with said rock shaft.

7./ A leer feeder including-a conveyor ex! tending across the leer, a pusher bar to push articles from the conveyer, means for reciprocating said pusher bar, and tripper mechanisms controlling the operations of said means, said tripper mechanisms beingselecthe conveyer or by pans on a conveyer.A

8. A leer feeder including a conveyer extending across the leer, a pusher bar to push articles from the conveyer,.means for raising and lowering said usher bar, and tripper mechanisms controllmg the loperation of said las means, said tripper mechanisms being 'selec-A tively operated either by the movement of the conveyer or Jby pans on a conveyer.

9. A leer feederincluding a conveyer extending acrossthe leer, a pusher bar to push articles from the conveyer, means 'fo reciprocating said bar, means for raising and lowering said bar, tripper mechanisms controlling the operation of said means, said tripper mechanisms' being selectively operated either by the movement vof the conveyer or by pans on the conveyer.

` 10Q A leer feederincluding a conveyer eX- tending across the leer, a pusher bar to push articles fromthe conveyer, a driving shaft for operating said pusher bar,a clutch associated with said shaft, two tripper mechanisms selectively controlling said clutch, one

ns l

of said tripper 'mechanisms being operative Lwhen the ware is placed directly on the conveyer,V and the sother of said tripper mechanisms being operative when the ware is placed in pans on the conveyer.

sob

11. A leer feeder including a conveyer eX- tending across the leer, a pusher bar for feeding ware from the conveyer to the leer,

Vmeans for operating said pusher bar, two

guides for individual articles removably attached to said pan guides.

18. A leer feeder includin a conveyer eX- tending across the leer, a pus er bar adapt/ed to push articles or pans containing articles from said conveyer into the leer, guide bars for guiding pans onto said conve er, and guides for individual articles a justably mounted on said pan guides.

HARRY L. Wll'llTMAN.

ating said means, and tripper mechanisms f for controlling the rotation of said shaft, one of said tripper mechanisms being operative when the Ware is placed' directly on l said conveyer, and the other of said tripper mechanisms being operative When the Ware is placed in pans on said conveyer.

13. A leer feeder including a conveyer eX- teuding across the leer, a pusher bar for feeding ware from the conveyer to the leer, means for operating the pusher bar, a tripper mechanism for controlling the operation of said means in accordance with the movement of said conveyer, and a second trippermechanism controlled by pans on said conveyer.

14. A leer feeder including a conveyer eX- tending across the leer, a pusher bar, means for operating the pusher bar, a tripper shaft for controlling the operation of the pusher bar, two laterally extending arms carried by the tripper shaft, means controlled by the movement of said conveyor for engaging and operating one of said arms, and means controlled by pans on said conve er for engaging and operating the other o said arms.

15. A leer feeder including a conveyer extending across the leer, a pusher bar, means for operating the pusher bar, a tripper shaft for controlling the operation of the pusher bar, two laterally extending arms carried b the tripper shaft, means controlled by the movement-of said conveyer for engaging and operating one of said arms, a clutch`for v rendering said means inoperative, and means controlled by pans on said conve er for engaging and operating the other o said arms.

16., A lee'r feeder including a reciprocable pusher rod, a pusher bar carried by said rod,

an upstanding plate mounted on said pusher bar and spaced tothe rear of the front edge of said bar, and means for adjusting said plate toward or from the front edge of said 17. A leer feeder including a conveyer ex tending across the leer, a pusher bar ada ted to push articles or pans containing' articles from said conveyer into the leer, guide bars for guiding pans onto said conveyer, and 

